Well, that common flower that you admire on your stroll may be lending a hand to prostate cancer treatment.
A recent study found that a compound in feverfew daisies could boost radiotherapy for prostate cancer treatment. The compound not only helps reduce side effects of radiotherapy but also increases its ability to kill cancer.
Radiotherapy is an effective mode of treatment for prostate cancer, but unfortunately, healthy tissue can become damaged as a result. Furthermore, side effects like incontinence and impotence are common.
The researchers found an anti-inflammatory compound in feverfew daisies can help stimulate healthy tissues and protect them from damage during radiotherapy.
Researcher Katherine Morel explained, “In mice treated with the compound before radiation therapy, radiation-induced damage in their healthy tissues dropped by more than 70 percent.”
The researchers also found that with the addition of the feverfew daisies, the effectiveness of radiotherapy nearly doubled.
Feverfew daisies have long been used as herbal treatments for migraines and other health conditions. Although one may think that eating daises yield positive effects, the compound used in the study was highly concentrated, equivalent to a truckload consumption of daisies.
The researchers are hopeful that their findings may translate to improving treatment for other types of cancer that use radiotherapy as treatment.
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